


Summer Chat

by Arithanas



Category: The Bletchley Circle
Genre: Misses Clause Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 06:05:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2840807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arithanas/pseuds/Arithanas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Millie and Lucy shared one starry night during the summer of 1943</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer Chat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Blacksquirrel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blacksquirrel/gifts).



> My gratitude to [QuantumButterfly](http://archiveofourown.org/users/QuantumButterfly) for one outstanding beta work.

Millie lit another Turkish fag and reclined on the lawn, the coolness of  the grass soaking through the light fabric of her tan-colored frock. It had been a merciful summer, here in Buckinghamshire country. The city was so humid that it was almost impossible to breathe, in part because of the smothering heat and the ever-present dust. It was good to be alive, to be young and to be helping the war effort. She smoked and watched the stars. It was a glorious sight since there was no interference from man-made illumination; even Bletchley Park was subject to the war blackout regulations.

"Want some?" Millie asked her companion. Lucy was seated at her side, resting on her cardigan.

A faint shake of the head -Millie heard it more than saw it- was the only reply.

"More for me!"

Despite her nonchalance,  Millie  was a bit worried because Lucy was listless; not that she was a regular dynamo, but usually she had a little more life in her body.

"Worried about those you left at home?"

Her intent was not to pry, but Lucy always had a comment about her family. This time there was no reply.

"I do," Millie smoked as she lay recumbent on the soft grass, enjoying the various scents of the land around her. "Not too much, because tragedy is a beast with long, long legs. If anything bad had happened, someone would tell us. What I miss most is a hot dinner and a long luxurious bath in the copper tub..."

"I don't miss those things." Finally Lucy parted her lips and dared to speak. Her voice was faint, almost a whisper, "I miss mostly the people; the pungent aroma of tobacco on papa’s vests, the soft hands of my mum... I'm afraid to forget those little things."

"I believe that you couldn't forget a thing," Millie interrupted as she  shook the ash from her cigarette.

"I'm afraid, even if I can recall almost all that has happened in my life."

Millie smoked a couple of drags in silence. The harsh smoke rasped in her throat; she missed pre-war tobacco, but she wasn’t going to complain about the quality of her cigarettes to Lucy.

"That must have some disadvantages," Millie said. "If the first time I made a fool of myself was something I remembered every day of my life, you can bet I would never leave the bed."

"The bomb."

"You said?"

"There was a bomb. I still can hear the windows cracking, and the heat wave and the dust wall that sweep down my street. There was a pram. I can still see how it rolled down the street,” Lucy was shuddering, as if she was cold. "I wonder every day if that pram was vacant."

Millie sat and watched her friend in astonished silence.

"I pray there was no baby in that pram..."

That certainly lent some perspective to Millie's circumstances. Lucy was ever so silent; one could never fathom what was happening behind her serene features.

“I’m sure the mother picked the baby up as soon as the sound came,” Millie said, not completely sure the mother had had the time, but it was the best she could think of under the circumstances.

“I want to believe that…”

Millie sat by her side, her fags forgotten on the grass. Lucy let her head rest on Millie’s shoulder.

“Once this war is over, what do you want to do?”

There was a faint smile on Lucy’s face: “I want to hug my brother.”

Millie laughed at Lucy’s unambitious expectations; her friend was a nice girl, bound to make a nice home someday and be satisfied with that life.

“Tell me what you liked before the war…”

“Toast with butter and raspberry jam”

“Homemade?”

“Chivers. I remember the crystal jar and the tight lid; white, with purple and red letters on top. King George seal. Net weight 1 and half ounces…”

“Only you can remember such details.”

“I’m sure you can remember things, too.”

“I only remember certain things.”

“Share them with me; the sound of your voice is so soothing…”

“You want to memorize my entire life.”

“Only the parts that you believe are nice. I want to have a store of good things, in case this war lasts forever.”

“It won’t last that long.”

“You’re right, only until we are old and brittle and there are no nice things left in this land.”

“Good things are timeless.”

“Like the way the sun warms you in spring.”

“And the way a new dress caresses your skin.”

“And the first sip of tea when you’ve spent the day outside.”

“And the excitement of going to exotic places for the first time.”

“Have you felt it?”

Lucy’s face was quite sceptical under the faint light of the moon.

“I haven’t, but certainly I’ll feel it before my time is done.” Millie reached for her pack of fags. “At least I’m going to the bloody colonies. I refuse to remain cooped up in a house. There is a lot of life to live out there.”

“I know, I’ve read books. The sheer immensity of the world scares the living lights out of me.”

“Think of all the foods you can taste and all the people you can meet. Why aren’t you marveling  at the possibilities?”

“Maybe,” Lucy’s lips quivered a little, Millie noticed it as she lit a new fag. “Maybe I just have everything I need right here to be a happy person, once this constant menace has passed over us like a hurricane.”

“What would that be?” Millie blew the smoke toward the starry sky.

“I have math and messages and lots of other things to occupy my mind with,” Lucy raised her eyes to the stars, “I have all these girls who are so bright and so brave. Do you think, perhaps, one day, women could be in charge of The House?”

The House was a dark bulk, the windows covered with blackout curtains. It was filled to the brim with military personnel and mathematicians, with all the power of life and death over thousands of people on the battle field.

“I can’t see why not. Give us a chance and we’ll take the world, let alone The House.”

Lucy smiled and rested her head on Millie’s shoulder; enjoying the night and the company. Soon they would need to get  inside, before it gets too late.


End file.
